SAP Owns Up to Usability Problem

SAP knows it has a usability problem and is actively trying to do something about it. It’s become an urgent issue for customers such as Varian Medical Systems, a manufacturer of medical devices and software. For years, Varian Medical Systems had taken an SAP-first approach but recently the company started to find good reasons not to buy SAP. “It was not a good user experience,” said Tom Rodden, senior director of enterprise applications at Varian Medical Systems. “We were losing the hearts and minds of the users.” The company, like other businesses, had begun to look for replacements to SAP for non-core applications.

Yet, SAP wasn’t going to let Varian slip away that easily. “Admitting there’s a problem is the first step to fixing it,” SAP senior vice president Denis Browne told CIO Journal. The software-maker asked Varian – and five other companies – to participate in an SAP pilot program that addressed usability. SAP has taken what it learned in that project and plans to make it available to other customers. By the first quarter of 2013, SAP will sell software that will let both IT departments and end users personalize most classic SAP screens, said Browne at an event at the company’s offices in Palo Alto.

Michael Hickins/WSJ

Waiting room at one of SAP’s offices in New York City. Maybe next SAP could improve the usability of its couches.

User experience is a crucial issue for enterprise IT, especially now that expectations have been raised in the age of the iPad. “Usability is going to make or break every major decision in the IT world,” said Rodden. People won’t use technology if it’s not intuitive which means money is wasted. It also gives employees incentive to find their own solutions which may not be secure and could make companies vulnerable to data breaches and jeopardize CIO jobs.

Today millions of employees around the world use SAP software in the workplace, said Browne. In many companies it’s very difficult or nearly impossible to rip and replace an SAP enterprise resource planning system. Many large companies rely on SAP systems to run core functions including product development and manufacturing, procurement and logistics, financials, sales and service and human resources. In fact, one of the reasons companies began to use SAP in the first place was because it could connect and automate much of the business.

Companies like Varian have remained loyal to SAP products because they didn’t want costly integration headaches. But, the rise of user-friendly devices including the iPhone and iPad changed worker expectations. “The world has changed dramatically,” said SAP’s Browne.

Part of that change is a function of demographics. By 2014, 47% of the workforce will be born after 1980, and younger workers have different expectations of software, said Sanjay Poonen, president of global solutions and head of mobility at SAP.

Until the pilot program, Varian Medical Systems had thought the issues with SAP interfaces were insurmountable. The company had already turned to cloud provider SuccessFactors – which has since been bought by SAP – for its performance management capabilities. Rodden says he’s happy that SAP purchased SuccessFactors because it will make the integration with SAP systems faster. But he says there are still areas where Varian Medical Systems may turn to other software providers.

Still, SAP’s attention to usability now makes it possible for Rodden to improve the look and feel of the software, simplify the screens and the number of clicks it takes to finish tasks. If Varian can make it easier for employees to complete their work, and to help reduce errors, it will be a step in the right direction, he said.

Correction: This story has been corrected to say that millions of employees around the world use SAP software. The story originally said 1 million employees use the software.